


we'll throw stones until we're dead

by devereauxed



Category: Jane the Virgin (TV)
Genre: Angst, F/F, Kind of anti-Rafael if I'm honest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-19
Updated: 2017-04-19
Packaged: 2018-10-20 21:13:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10670889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/devereauxed/pseuds/devereauxed
Summary: Even as Eileen Rose can't help herself when it comes to rose-patterned clothing and messing with Rafael.





	we'll throw stones until we're dead

**Author's Note:**

> This is all started because I saw the shirt I ended up putting Rose in at Old Navy. 
> 
> And then Anna told me to.
> 
> Also in my head Luisa begged Rose to dye her hair back to red as soon as they moved away.

Luisa tapped her foot impatiently and looked at the clock for the fourth time in the last two minutes. 

“Let’s go! They’re going to be here any minute!” she called out.

“I’m almost ready,” came Rose’s muffled reply from the bedroom.

They were going out to dinner with Rafael, Petra, and the girls that night and Luisa honestly just wanted to get it over with. They didn’t visit often anymore what with how Rafael treated Rose, or Eileen she should say, and Luisa had gotten tired of the constant scrutiny of her life choices and past. She was happy now, Rose had been behaving, and at this point her brother had no reason to have issues with her girlfriend. That he knew of. Plus, it had been more than three years. The one regret she had about the entire thing was not being around for Anna, Ellie, and Mateo, but she knew that had she stayed Rafael would have inserted himself into those relationships until they were unmanageable. 

She wasn’t unaware of how problematic her relationship with Rose was, but they’d worked through a lot of it. Once she’d wrangled her girlfriend into couple’s therapy and gotten her to uncross her arms and speak, it had actually helped. As had making the conscious decision not to think about her father’s death.

They were happy. Legitimately happy. And like hell was she going to let her brother ruin that.

Rose emerged from the bedroom, her blonde wig and disconcerting Eileen mask in place, and Luisa sighed. She hated this part. She knew that her partner was behind that mask, but it was hard to remember that sometimes. She stood and moved toward her, intent on taking her hand, something that always reassured her that Rose was still in there, but stopped in her tracks as she took in Rose’s outfit. 

“Nope. Go change,” she said immediately. 

“What? Why?” Rose answered, doing her best to sound innocent.

Luisa raised an eyebrow and said, “You know why.”

“Is it too revealing?” her girlfriend replied, her eyes sparkling as she ran her hands across the loose, gauzy, cream-colored Bohemian top she wore.

“Rose, there are roses embroidered all over that!” Luisa said, exasperated. 

Rose smirked, something that looked strange on Eileen but would have been insufferably smug on her real face. “Flowers are very New Age, you know. There are essential oils and I’m sure they heal some kind of something that’s not really wrong with people.”

“Go. Change. Now.” Luisa said, her voice leaving no room for argument.

There was a knock at the door. 

“Oops, look who’s here. Get your game face on, I’ve already got mine,” Rose said, pressing a quick kiss to Luisa’s cheek as she passed her to open the door.

“Well hello!” Rose said, smiling widely. For once the smile reached her eyes behind the mask, but Luisa knew that it was only because Rose was enjoying this far too much.

The girls said a polite hello, and Petra smiled, but Rafael’s eyes narrowed as he took in Eileen’s outfit. 

“Hi,” he said, his tone suspicious.

“How are you, friend?” Rose responded, mostly because she knew how much it bothered him when she called him that.

“Fine. That’s an interesting shirt,” he prompted, baiting her. Luisa sighed, her stomach twisting anxiously as she moved to give the girls a kiss and stand behind Rose.

“Oh thank you! I saw it in the store and couldn’t resist. I love the flowers,” Rose said, and Luisa subtly pinched her. 

Rafael locked eyes with Rose, but Rose being Rose, she didn’t back down, refusing to be the first to look away.

“So, dinner?” Luisa interjected, her voice peppy in an attempt to break the tension.

Rafael looked from Eileen to his sister, shaking his head slightly. “Yeah, dinner, of course, let’s go.” He gave Luisa a quick hug in greeting before taking Anna’s hand and falling into step with Petra, moving back down the hall. Luisa took Rose’s hand and squeezed it a little too tightly in warning as they followed them.

Luisa let the other four get ahead of them slightly before she hissed under her breath, “Behave.”

Rose just winked at her.

As they turned the corner, she heard Rafael whispering roughly. “Do you see? I’m telling you, there’s something that’s not right.”

“Rafael, we have been over this. You need to get a grip. You did a DNA test for god’s sake, what more do you need?” Petra whispered back, her voice harsh.

The two of them went silent at the sight of the two women and smiled unconvincingly.

“Everything okay?” Rose asked, her voice innocent and Luisa bit the inside of her cheek.

It was going to be a long night. 

* * *

 

Once they were seated, the small talk started. It wasn’t difficult to keep it neutral and uncomplicated – she and Rose had developed a relatively normal life in the past few years, and whether Rafael truly wanted to hear about it, Luisa was excited to share. She’d found a home and she was proud of it.

Rose hadn’t pushed her boundaries much on the way to the restaurant, choosing instead to speak almost exclusively to the girls. Luisa wanted to believe it was because Rose had softened when it came to children, but she knew it was more likely indicative of just how little her girlfriend wanted to talk to her brother.  

But the peace didn’t last long. As the waiter came around the table to take their orders Rose ordered angel hair pasta with a rosé sauce and Luisa kicked her under the table. Rafael’s eyes narrowed again, and Rose hid a smile by taking a sip of water.

Luisa saw Petra grab Rafael’s arm in a not so subtle reminder to keep it together and she took the opportunity to give Rose a similar squeeze to her knee. Her girlfriend looked at her and the brunette gave her the most restrained pleading look she could manage. Rose’s eyes softened slightly and she gave a nearly imperceptible nod.

“Babe, what was the name of that place we loved in Rome?” Luisa pressed, trying to change the subject. She’d taken to calling Rose pet names in front of her family to prevent slip-ups, but with the way the night was going it didn’t seem like that would really make a difference.

Rose took Luisa’s lead and behaved, sharing stories about their recent trip to Europe, despite Rafael’s continued attempts to trip her up. Luisa saw her girlfriend’s resolve only waver once Rafael brought up Emilio solely to gauge their reactions. Luisa had come to terms with the fact that Rose didn’t truly feel remorse for what she had done to her father, but saw her anger rise on Luisa’s behalf when Rafael stooped so low. Even Petra looked embarrassed.

“Rafael, I know you don’t like me,” Rose began in a dangerous voice. “To be honest, I don’t need you to like me. I could not care less. But you’re supposed to love _her_.” 

His cold gaze shifted from Rose to Luisa and he had the decency to look ashamed.

“I’m sorry, Lu,” he said quietly, his eyes downcast.

The rest of the meal was somber and awkward. Petra kept the girls occupied, and Luisa did her best not to look at either her brother or her girlfriend.

As the group walked out of the restaurant, Rafael pulled Luisa aside and apologized again. She knew that it was genuine and she was too tired to fight, so she just accepted his apologetic hug and followed Rose into the cab. She didn’t respond to Rose’s attempts at conversation, nodding tiredly and looking out the window.

When they walked back into their room, Luisa moved to the bedroom and started silently getting ready for bed. By the time Rose walked in she had removed her mask, leaving her red hair disheveled and hanging down around her shoulders.  She shut the door and leaned back against it.

“Lu…”she started, but Luisa cut her off.

“What, Rose?” she snapped. “You knew what you were doing. You knew what he would do.”

“I’m sorry!” Rose threw her hands up. “I am just so tired of his bullshit, Luisa!”

“Then why did you even start with him?” Luisa yelled back. 

“I have done every single thing that he has asked of me. It’s been _three years_ , Luisa! I know this wears on you, but it wears on me too! I don’t need him to like me, but it would be nice if we could have one meal where I don’t feel like I’m being interrogated,” Rose retorted bitterly.

“Well, Rose, that’s the price you pay for being a criminal!” Luisa said harshly and immediately regretted it.

“Was that supposed to hurt my feelings? Because I have no issues with my past,” the redhead said, her voice low. “I have paid a price to be with you and I am happy to do it, but if you still can’t handle it after three years then what are we even doing?”

Luisa deflated. On one hand Rose was right, they had dealt with all of this already, they’d had this fight so many times, but on the other Rose had so cavalierly poked Rafael with a stick knowing how he would react and knowing that the end result would likely hurt Luisa. She knew that this was how Rose operated, that she could be cold and calculating and always needed to win, but it was rare these days for Luisa to end up in the line of fire. It took her back to the days of being the dirty little secret, of the redhead denying her feelings to Luisa’s face just to get what she wanted, of mourning Rose’s death with a bottle of vodka that turned into ten and a return to rehab. 

It hurt.

Rose’s defiant demeanor fell as Luisa wilted, moving to sit next to the brunette as she collapsed on the bed.

“I just get so tired,” Luisa said quietly.

“I know,” the redhead replied. She hesitated then added, “I’m sorry that I made it worse." 

“It’s okay,” Luisa said. And she almost meant it. She took Rose’s hand gently and the redhead squeezed it in response. She sighed. “Let’s go home, Rose.”

 “The plane is already on standby,” Rose answered, pulling Luisa into her side and kissing the top of her head. Luisa smiled softly. They sat silently for a moment, Luisa breathing deeply in an attempt to let go of the resurgence of her past pain. She let her mind wander to the home they had somehow built against all odds. Their not so little place in California, with the mango tree in the backyard, filled with light and love. She felt her body relax and her mind follow, knowing that this time tomorrow she would be curled up on the porch swing she had insisted they put in, her feet in Rose’s lap, watching the sun set over the golden hills.  

“Rose?” she asked. 

“Yes?”

“Do you feel badly enough about dinner to finally let me get a cat?”


End file.
